ISG Starts Up HBI Plant

International Steel Group Inc. announced the successful start-up of its hot briquetted iron facility in Trinidad and Tobago. ISG purchased the facility earlier this year from Cliffs and Associates Ltd. as part of its strategy to stabilize its raw material supplies and costs.

"We are very pleased that this successful start-up occurred as planned," said Rodney B. Mott, ISG president and CEO. "I applaud the entire ISG team that worked so diligently to accomplish this task. We purchased this facility to support our raw material strategy by utilizing the latest technology. Restarting the Trinidad plant is another example of our commitment to that strategy, which will control costs and better ensure our supply of raw materials."

The plant officially began production Friday, November 12 and is already running at more than 50 percent capacity with few minor start-up issues. ISG management is aiming for a production rate of 36 tons per hour in the next few months and hopes to reach design capacity by next summer.

ISG's Trinidad facility has the capacity to produce approximately 550,000 tons of HBI annually.

The HBI produced at the Trinidad facility will be used at various ISG facilities throughout the company to better manage raw material costs.